Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Matt, owner of Red Sparks is starting a new preemie segment on The Playpen entitled “The Preemie Adventure – Then and Now.” The series will feature a picture of premature infants at birth, along with a photo of the child at present day and a brief story from the parents describing their personal experiences with preterm birth.

He has chosen our story to kick-off the series. Here is the article and pictures that I submitted:

During a family vacation to Disney World, I was diagnosed with Preterm Premature Rupture of the Membranes (PPROM)...which is a fancy way of saying that my water broke VERY early. I was 22 weeks pregnant and was told that there was very little chance that the baby would survive.

We were devastated as they went over the statistics. My due date was still 121 days away. We had a 90% chance that the baby would die in the delivery room. If he beat the odds and survived, it would almost surely be with severe disabilities and a very poor quality of life. We were even offered medication to speed up the “inevitable”.

Thankfully, I lasted almost two weeks on bed-rest, which gave the baby some much needed time to develop further. At 24 weeks and 5 days, Kyle was born weighing 1 pound 6 ounces. Again we were warned that his chances of surviving, let alone leading a quality life, were not good.

We were devastated when we saw how small he was. And it was not a tiny, cute little baby kind of small. He obviously was very sick. Despite all the problems on the inside - things like his lungs and heart not being developed - we were struck by how different he looked on the outside. One of his eyes was still fused shut. His skin was transparent and covered with hair. Even his ear lobes had not yet developed cartilage and just hung there.

You will hear many parents of preemie’s state that their NICU stay was a rollercoaster ride and this description is so true.

Thanks to many answered prayers, today Kyle is a happy and healthy 18 month old (14 months adjusted age). He is the happiest baby and loves to be the center of attention. He is close to walking on his own and is adding new words to his vocabulary weekly.

If there is one remnant of Kyle’s extreme prematurity, it is the slow rate in which he has grown. Although it is finally starting to get better, since the day we left the hospital we have received comments on Kyle’s small size. An automatic question of strangers seems to be, “How old is your baby?” When he weighed 7 pounds and I would answer that he is six months old, people would look at me like I am crazy. Kyle is now almost 19 pounds, which considering his start in life, is amazing to me. Still, I feel like I always have to defend his small size and am looking forward to the day that he is actually on the growth chart!

We had a great appreciation for Kyle even before his prematurity because I had such a difficult time getting pregnant (he is an IVF baby), so even his conception was nothing short of miraculous to us. But everything now is even more precious to us and we take nothing for granted. We have learned some valuable lessons through this trial and we’ll never be the same. When I look at Kyle now, it is hard for me to imagine that he once weighed just 18 ounces. I am amazed by the accomplishments he has made, he truly is our miracle baby. "This is the Lord's doing, it is marvelous in our eyes." Psalm 118:23

I think this series is an excellent idea! When Kyle was in the hospital, I would scour the Internet for information on preemies. While I was able to find a lot of medical based information, there was nothing like this "Now and Then" series. This may seem callous, but as parent looking at Kyle when he was just one pound, I wondered if he would ever look "normal".

Anyways, if anyone is interested, The Play Pen is looking for other preemie parents to submit stories.

Oh my stars.What a post to read for my first visit over here.Absolutely amazing. What a blessing that darling little boy is. God has given you something truly miraculous and I thank you for sharing that with all of us.

Thank you Jennifer for your personal and honest story. Kyle's story is absolutely amazing, and I KNOW that people who happen to stumble upon this series will draw a ton of inspiration from it. Plus, its clear form the "now" picture that Kyle is already quite the little lady killer! Go get em, Kyle!

Although my kids were not preemies, I can relate a little to your story. I had PPROM too. It was at 33 weeks, so not as scary. But I was still in the hospital for 2 1/2 weeks. I couldn't even get up to use the bathroom. Now that I read your story, I consider myself very lucky to have been so much further along. Your little baby went through so much just to survive. I can't even imagine. I'm so glad it all turned out ok for you and your family.

oh my gosh..I had followed DiscoveringDad's story as it unfolded and it was heart wrenching (he too is going to be apart of the premie series). I remember when I went into labor at 20 weeks and the doctors couldn't stop it, I was told there was nothing I or they could do if she was born. After 2 weeks in the hospital they let me go home to bed rest where I spent the next 14 weeks. My daughter was born at 36 weeks...all the while I was in labor, they just kept me on medication to slow the contractions. It gets me every time I hear a premie story. You have a blessing from above - he is adorable. Congratulations ...

~KThanks for stopping by, it's always a pleasure to see your comments.

Wow! What a story! Congrats on having the story published. Kyle is an inspiration and a miracle! Thanks for reading my blog and for the prayers for my friends daughter Sarah Avery. No word yet on how the surgery went. We continue to pray.

Are you sure you really have a husband? You hardly ever talk about him, and there are very few pictures of him...and honestly, if I were your husband, I'd be pretty mad if I saw my wife making videos to put online of herself trying to be "sexy" It's inappropriate and I feel very sorry for your husband. And if he doesn't mind it, then that's even worse. You're a mother, not a sex goddess

a woman your age should not be going around dressed in skanky clothes. I'm surprised your husband let you post that video. "Sexy" contest? wow. That means a lot of men will be looking at the calender, lusting after your hott body, wishing they could get a piece of you, while you just act like that's totally okay to do. Making men lust is no big deal, right? ANd I'm sure your "husband" is okay with this.

That's an awesome story! And you WERE lucky just to conceive him. And look at how beautiful that little boy is now. God was definatley looking over you. I adopted my son after years of not being able to conceive and I feel so lucky to have him.

Oh I enjoyed reading your story! I feel the same way with my son about the weight, it annoys me sometimes. Jacob is 5 and 1/2 months old and only 8lbs 4oz...people are always asking me why he's so skinny and I've even had problems with doctors. Having a preemie in or out of the NICU is a constant everyday roller coaster ride. We go through so many triumphs yet we also have our bad days. We continue to push through them though. We know without a doubt how lucky we are just to spend a day with our child, we're blessed to have years.